Fret for musical instruments



(No Model.)

J. F. STRATTON. FRET FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 501,743. Patented July 18, 1893.

@egm' f I. BY

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. STRATTON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FRET FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,743, dated July 18, 1893.

Application filed March 28, 1893. Serial No. 467.976. m0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. STRATTON, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Fret, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to musical instruments, and its object is to provide a new and improved fret, which is simple and durable in construction, and adapted to be readily secured in place without danger of coming loose on the shrinking of the wood into which the fret is driven, or from other causes.

The invention consists of a fret provided in its shank with recesses or grooves adapted to be filled by the wood expanding after the fret is driven in place therein.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvement as applied to a guitar finger-board. Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section of the improvement as applied; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the improvement.

The improved fret is provided with a suitable head A, on the under side of which extends a slightly tapering shank B, formed in its sides with longitudinally-extending recesses or grooves 0, preferably made by running the ordinary fret through a suitable machine carrying a cutting tool, so as to form the grooves in the sides of the shank. The shank B is adapted to be driven in the usual manner into a transverse slot D, formed in the finger-board E or other part of a musical instrument, so that on driving the fret in place in the somewhat tightly fitting recess, the wood expands and fills the longitudinal recesses or grooves 0, thus preventingtheloosening of the fret on the shrinking of the wood or from other causes.

It will be seen that this fret is very simple in construction, can be cheaply manufactured, and is readily driven in place in the wooden portion of the finger-board, without danger that the fret will becomeloose as so frequently happens with frets as now constructed.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- As a new article of manufacture, a fret for musical instruments, provided in its shank with recesses or grooves adapted to be filled in by the wood expanding after the fret has been driven in place, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN F; STRATTON.

Witnesses:

THEo. G. HOSTER, O. SEDGWICK. 

